TAWA YAMA is insolvent

KARLSRUHE. The Karlsruhe Michelin-starred restaurant TAWA YAMA has filed for insolvency under self-administration. The Karlsruhe Local Court has followed a corresponding application by the management of TAWA YAMA Betriebs GmbH & Co KG and has appointed lawyer Holger Blümle from Schultze & Braun to represent the interests of the creditors as provisional administrator.

"We will continue to welcome our guests to the Raumfabrik Durlach business campus in both restaurant areas, and reservations are still valid," clarifies Dirk Eichelbaum. The reorganisation expert will support the management for the duration of the reorientation. "From our point of view, the reorganisation with an investor solution and an adapted concept makes sense." The wages and salaries of the two trainees, ten full-time and 33 part-time employees are secured via pre-financed insolvency benefits up to and including June 2025.

Reasons for the reorganisation

Since 2020, TAWA YAMA has been the culinary hub on the Raumfabrik site, the unique business campus with 80,000 square metres of commercial space on the former site of the PFAFF sewing machine factory. At the time, the catering concept of the TAWA YAMA EASY restaurant area with its guest-friendly casual dining menu was designed for the potential of 3,000 workplaces on the business campus. There are currently far fewer employees on site every day due to home office regulations and the occasional vacancy of individual spaces.

In TAWA YAMA EASY, as in the Michelin-starred restaurant area TAWA YAMA FINE, guests are showing restrained consumer behaviour: "Our guests appreciate both the highest culinary art and the relaxed dining environment with appealing service. At the same time, guests have become more cautious and hesitant with their orders, reducing their consumption as operating costs rise." Against this backdrop, Christmas business, which was characterised by significantly reduced budgets for company celebrations, could not be balanced out. "We will discuss all these aspects with the creditors in the coming weeks in order to be able to restart in this extraordinary ambience in a lavishly furnished restaurant property with an adapted concept and investors," says Eichelbaum.

"The self-administration proceedings are designed to preserve TAWA YAMA and reorganise it for the changed conditions. I am confident that the management and restructuring consultants will develop a concept that can achieve this goal and is also the best solution for the creditors," says the provisional administrator Holger Blümle. "It would be a real shame if Karlsruhe were to lose such an innovative concept in such a beautiful setting."

TAWA YAMA has won a Michelin star since it opened five years ago. Head chef Igor Yakuschchenko has made a name for himself with his creative, fresh cuisine and creates unforgettable gastronomic experiences. The restaurant has a modern and urban design, offers spacious seating and impressive views of the Durlach Tower Mountain (Japanese: TAWA YAMA).